third culture turtles

originally posted on october 15, 2024. contains spoilers.

i saw this comic by tumblr user red-rover-au and it got me to ponder something i'd found interesting about the ninja turtles – specifically the rise ones! – since i got into them. (the tags they screencapped are mine, btw.)

(here it is, in case the post gets deleted.)

i imagine the boys have a hard time claiming any of their identity labels with conviction, and that's interesting to me, as someone who Also has a hard time claiming any of my identity labels with conviction lol. anyway, here's me giving the rise turtles' identities a bit more thought. i don't promise any answers or best ways to look at them... think of this as just a fun thought exercise i decided to do?

mutants

it's right in the show name, but the boys are not "mutants" in the way that most of (rise canon) NYC knows mutants to be! the boys meet a number of mutants in the show, but while they are also anthropomorphic animal mutants, they were humans first turned animalish via baron draxum's oozesquito. (the boys, on the other hand, were turts first before being mutated with human DNA – though also by draxum's hand.)

but the human-turned-mutants in the show do not usually live regular lives post-mutation: many of the mutants in the show take the form of antagonists (meat sweats, hypno, etc). some have always been in the spotlight so their lives are better for the mutation (DIGG), and others suffer from their normalcy being revoked (bullhop). i haven't seen the show in a while, but i can't recall seeing an undisguised oozesquito-mutant just chilling as a normal guy in human society, lol

(ah, i guess todd capybara is generally well-liked... does he interact with humans? i can't remember.)

so culturally, the boys might have more in common with mutants than yokai (see next section), in that (1) they share the experience of living in the same city/country/world in general; and (2) they're seen as weirdoes by the average person in their city/country/world (AKA, the humans).

but the turtles don't share the human-turned-mutants' experience of having their human lives upended, nor did they ever experience growing up "normal" / not being seen as particularly freakish. so in a theoretical mutant support group, they'd be the odd ones out.

and then you have piebald, who – like the boys – was once an animal before mutating into an anthropomorphic creature! based on the ratio of mutants we see in the show, it seems like animal-mutants are the minority among oozesquito victims, with human-mutants outnumbering them by a lot.

while she might have more in common with the boys than the human-mutants, piebald's mutation feels different too, somehow. she was a goldfish up until the boys accidentally flushed her away a year before the series' events, and when we meet her as a mutant, she's a full adult (it seems) lol.

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piebald!

i guess she went through maturation while being a goldfish, rather than mutating young like the baby turts. their experiences are bound to be different too, though probably more similar than to the human-mutants.

yokais

the boys meet big mama and get introduced to the hidden city underneath new york, where everyone still doesn't look like them, but in a more welcoming way, given that they are all yokai. they're beings who have existed for eons and, in recent years, have lived in secrecy from human society.

two big differences from the turtles:

  1. culture! since they occupy a wholeass underground world, the yokai are bound to have different customs, different pop culture, etc. they are likely unfamiliar with jupiter jim. AND
  2. a level of self-acceptance that comes with having grown up in a society where you know people who are just like you.

another thing i was thinking about: some yokai can hang out on the surface/in NYC like the boys, but they're usually in disguise, or still spend most of their time there. (think big mama, sunita, the goat guy who sells warren stone the fist thing...)

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sunita (R) in her human disguise. she normally looks like green goo.

still, presumably there are SOME yokai out there who grew up on the surface and on primarily human culture – the turtles just haven't met them.

new yorkers

THE BOYS DON'T EVEN KNOW THEIR OWN CITY. raph calls lady liberty "jolly green torch guy". it's the only place they've ever lived and YET!!!

i don't have much to say here. i just think it's funny that a canonical detail about the rise turtles is that they do not know their city well at all when for most of their lives, it's probably the only identity they could have really claimed with their whole chest. the oozesquito stuff only started in canon, they didn't even know about the yokai until some episodes into canon, and i haven't even gotten to the last thing...

japanese americans

they did not know they were japanese!!!! this was the last thing (of these four identities) they found out, i believe, although that might just be my headcanon.

i always thought the way they learned about this part of their identity was an interesting choice! for any non-rise fan reading, here's a summary of relevant events in canon:

  1. turtles are raised by rat splinter. they also all enjoy the movies of this human action star named lou jitsu. (lou jitsu is japanese.)
  2. turtles find out they were mutated as baby turts from lou jitsu's DNA. they're super happy about this lol. they tell splinter they still see him as their dad though aw <3
  3. later they find out splinter is actually lou jitsu, who mutated into a rat thing. they are shocked. and then, FOR SOME REASON, THEY DON'T SPEND MORE TIME UNPACKING THIS IN LATER EPISODES.

i wonder if they knew splinter was japanese before this. he's seen watching a show called スコーピオン・トレッドミル as early as the first episode, so like... they must have known, since he knows the language...? or i guess they could have assumed he learned japanese because he was a martial arts guy... man, they really did not talk about important things with their dad growing up.

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scorpion treadmill!

anyway, even if they did know splinter was japanese from the get go, they probably assumed they were not biologically related. that means they would have known biologically they were japanese by point #2.

they don't really do much with this after finding out the stuff about their dad, which makes sense in the context of the show. shenanigans and fighting > in-depth diaspora reflection episode focusing on each of the turtles (an episode catered to mei and mei alone). they do have the martial arts thing, and they get to know the history of their family clan towards the end of s2, but that's the extent of their connection to their heritage.

but because I'm Me, i like thinking about them caring a bit more going forward, especially after they meet and immediately bond with karai. maybe they bug their issei dad to teach them more about japanese culture, or try and pick up the basics of the language... the idea is very endearing to me. i like when people try to make their own connections, in their own way, with their roots. i'm hitting the turtles with the diaspora beam

on belonging

to end this, i wanna go back to the thing about karai. i think the turts so quickly taking to gram gram shows how insular their lives are and how hard it is for them to find and build new relationships. they know her only for a short while, but are so excited to meet her. within hours of her being around and being told by splinter to give her space, they bother her anyway, seeking attention and approval. they call her gram-gram. they latch on so quickly.

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when the boys are arguing for karai's attention, leo goes "i haven't met outside family before!!!!"

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he hesitate before stepping into the portal and gives her a big hug... worried he won't get the chance to again </3

they're so comforted by the fact that she is one of them and they are one of hers. that proves to me how desperate they are for family and connection and belonging. AUGH...

i don't know if these different layers of their identities are as important to them internally as they are to me, the turtle enjoyer. maybe they don't care about not being able to really relate to the labels and communities they "should be" associated with. after all, their experience is so unique, and it's hard for them to meet people who will "get it" entirely.

but i do think they crave acceptance! the feeling that they're part of something, connected to something beyond their lives spent in the sewers and on rooftops when everyone's asleep! they might not feel completely at home in each one of these identities, but i like to imagine that the boys learn to use 'em as springboards to help them find a little bit more of that connection they want. ^__^

more turtles?

here is where i put other places on my site you can find the turtles.